S E R E K
you kneel before my throne
unaware it was born of lies

Serek couldn't seem to settle. The interaction with his family drained him, drawing him devoid of life and energy. He had to admit, he was pleased with seeing them, but the attention got to be too much for him.

He just wanted to be alone. His joints ached as he waded through the mud of Cetus. What an infernal mud, an infernal waste. Oh, how he wished he could have been to the life it was like before. He shook his head as his tail drooped, the pressure of his gem against his neck present as he dropped his head.

At least the Divine was here. She was here, always, and the sight of her caused comfort in the weary hybrid. It signaled to him that he was home, he was safe. She wasn't hard to find, and Serek had often been found by her roots as of late. A deep sigh rumbled through his chest as he lowered his haunches to the relatively dry land by her yet living wood. He was more than happy here. Up close, though, her roots were even more unsettling, but that didn't stop Serek from resting his head upon her, his eyes flitting closed for a brief second. A deep inhale brought the scent of bark wafting through his mind. His shoulders sagged as he nuzzled into her.

He paused for a moment, raising a paw up to the wood. His magic flared. He thought to look into her past- yet, he couldn't guarantee how far back he'd go. He simply wanted to see what he had missed. Yet, still, his magic flowed through his veins from his collar, channeling through his paws to the ground below him. He had the mind to move his paw away from her lest he cause the onset fungal growth upon her too.

Thankfully, the magic didn't flare up too much to cause any difference to the ground below.

The telltale signs of recent Gembound activity did alert him ever so slightly, but they didn't seem to cause any harm to her. His eyes racked over her form as he sighed again. His dual limbs curled close and he used her root as a headrest, leaning his head to the side and careful to not dig in with his gem.

The pup was exhausted, her limbs ached more and more each day, she had moments where her head hurt so much she didn't know if she could think anymore, and moments where everything was perfect. So utterly perfect because she had her beautiful clusters always at her side. They were hard to travel with, not only because she had to walk with them in her mouth which could become uncomfortable, but she loved it, oh how she loved them, but the broken one often caused her to gag since the rotten stench of it was so strong. Everything was okay though. Everything was perfect.

Even though she was tired, often having to rest, and she was constantly too warm or too cold, she couldn't stop herself from walking, as soon as she stopped walking she knew she would be unable to protect her Fornax Things any longer. That just couldn't let that happen. They had to be safe. Always safe. They were safe with her, weren't they? Of course, they were.

She had been here before, she had chased some rats and had her first meal, she had gone collecting as well. Built her nest that was so damn comfortable and perfect, although when and where she couldn't quite put her paw on but she was still so proud of it because she had accomplished two things here. This was obviously a lucky place, the best place to bring her Things. Although, where she was going she wasn't quite sure. The mud and water weren't quite as bad last time, although once it had been a little drier, she knew that now, but it still took quite a lot of effort to wade through and the mist was no less encompassing. She had to find somewhere to go, to rest. Where was her nest? So many trees. It had to be here somewhere, she had scavenged between the trees to make it, surely, it must be here.

By the time something large and looming came into her view, she was falling, tripping over one end of a root. Body toppling forward, mouth hanging open in a startled gasp, the clusters falling and tumbling in front of her sprawled body. "No!" A scream, accompanied by a flickering blue light, darting around. She could lose even one of her Things under the roots or the foliage, couldn't let them hide in the fog. She saw no one else around, there was a presence though, watching through her frantic eyes, conscious in her mind, it was judging her, she knew it. She was sorry.

@Serek

S E R E K
you kneel before my throne
unaware it was born of lies

The utter stench of approaching rot drew Serek to action. First, red lips curled to reveal the tusks of his teeth poking through, then his head rose and swam with the abruptness of movement. His horns swept back as his snout raised to the misty sky. He couldn't tell where the awful smell was from thanks to the water in the air and on foot, but he could tell it was cut with something sweet underneath.

A weird combination. Serek bunched his lips up and stuck out his tongue, shaking his head. It could be a rotting corpse, for all he cared. Hopefully it would go away soon.

He was in for a shock as he realized the smell was only growing in strength. He forced himself to keep down a blanch. It was more disgusting than Cetus itself. Where was the beast's food pile again? Surely, nowhere near here. The Divine didn't consume, as far as he knew. He thought for a moment and pressed his cold, padded nose to her bark and inhaled. Nope, not from her. A mix of whine and growl rumbled at the back of his throat as he lifted himself to his feet and stretched out muddy legs.

Well, fine. If it was coming closer, Serek might as well figure out what was going on. The hybrid tensed his jaws as he perked his ears, hearing for.. Well, anything.

He jumped when a shout came from closer than expected. It came by the Divine- blue light sprung up by her roots, darting this way and that. The smell must have been coming from whoever was casting it. Tense and stiff-legged, Serek made his way about the roots and came upon a distressed wolf looking for... Something.

The hybrid suppressed a roll of his eyes. Something about them felt off, especially if they were sick enough to send waves of the rotten smell about the forest. He put his body perpendicular to them as his magic reached out to search their own along with the odd things before their body. With a raised hyena paw to his mouth, he cleared his throat, holding his head high and green gem glittering in the blue light of her wisp. "Can I help you?" He didn't intend to sound upset, though his words hissed out with disrespect. It was unintentional, for the most part- he had no reason to be mad at the wolf, and yet they had been poisoning the dank air with the awful stench they carried. They looked perceptively thin, if he recognized canine anatomy enough, as well. A worrying sign for disease, no doubt.

@Adèlaide @Game Master Dark

Serek would find the faintest tremble of magic to the clusters--barely there, a mere sliver.

Whatever was causing their strange effects, magic wasn't it.

@Serek

Something approached out of her peripheral vision, the presence in her mind giving no indication that it cared only that she had to make sure everything was safe. With quick movements, she didn't realise she had in her anymore, the young girl gathered the clusters towards her so they were in a pile again. There was something about this new being that she instantly disliked, perhaps it was the way he spoke to her, or looked at her as if she was below him. Now that was just rude. She puffed her chest at as much as possible, her head held high (even though it meant her breathing deepened and quickened). Could he help her? What sort of nonsense was that? "Does it look like I need help?" Her words were harsh out of her mouth, a hiss of a snake, the hurt pride of a youthful queen.

Her bluish light remained hovering above both her and her clusters, she saw it as a menacing threat, although it could do nothing really, that didn't matter. Her clusters had all the protection they needed, that meant she was able to relax a little. An unconscious paw had begun to stroke the Fornax Things, the broken one in the middle as an apology to it. "Aren't they perfect?" The snappish attitude had left her voice to be replaced with reverence, an uncontrollable love for all of them. Does he love them too? Of course, how couldn't he? They were just so beautiful, the couldn't control how they smelled and she loved them even more for it. "Come closer, look at them." She was entranced, her dislike for this creature forgotten because it doesn't matter, how could it matter if he loved them too.

After a moment of standing tall, she had to sit down, breath coming out in short pants, but she was smiling down at her clusters, her eyes narrowing slightly when she looked up at him but the loving smile remained. Her paw scooped one up, the broken one with the strongest smell because she had to show it that she was sorry, and held it out to him. Although he couldn't take it. That was not allowed. They were hers. But he could look. She would share.

If only she knew where her nest was she could keep them all safely hidden away until she brought them out for others to long for. The presence wouldn't tell her either, although it never said anything to her, but that was alright, it was just shy.

@Serek

S E R E K
you kneel before my throne
unaware it was born of lies

Serek took a step back at the abruptness of the canine's movement, eyes narrowing down at her. Was it feral? The thought that it was diseased hung in his mind, setting his lip to curl protectively with fangs glinting in the faint light her wisp created. The words didn't help her standing with him. She must have been ill at this point.

He calmed, though, tail lowering and muscles relaxing. She wasn't feral, at least, and was a fellow Gembound who spoke. Being about whatever foul-smelling things she had wove ease under his skin and about his bones. He would be find with more of them about. Carefully, he approached, still wary about keeping his distance and with his head still on his shoulders, taking careful steps around a root breaking through the ground. Horns lowered, he eyed over the odd things she had gathered about her feet.

He wouldn't call them perfect, but they did have a growing charm upon him. The fact that they held a tinge of magic, however... That sparked his interest. "What are they?" He spoke low, leaning to the one she presented before him. A deep breath was taken in before being snorted out. So that was where it was coming from! He shuddered in minor disgust, though by this point the flowers had invisible hands locked over him. Interest drew him closer. Politely, he sat down once more, reaching a paw out as if questioning if he could touch one. Though- he hesitated. Then he drew his paw back. There were things to address.

"Are you ill?" He began, tilting his head even further forward and slightly to the side. "If you're hungry- Here, I'm not sure if you're able to eat this, but it should help regain some strength." Her labored breathing was filling his ears, and he might as well do something to help with that. Digging deep, he channeled his magic through his stone to charge a spell at the ground between them. "I've seen carnivores eat these be-"

He startled as the banana grew at a rate he hadn't experienced before. It flared to life, sparkling against the blue light of her wisp, growing to the length of his forearm. Eyes wide, he reeled back. It could be nearly enough to share! Disbelief took over his features before he bent down with his mouth agape. Gingerly, he used paws and teeth to peel back the banana, barely able to fit the thing in his mouth. Well, there should be enough to share- he took the back half of the more nutritious middle, leaving more than enough for the wolf. Absentmindedly, he chewed at it with the flat teeth at the back of his mouth, swallowing as he turned his eye to the clusters.

He had no idea how to even approach those, but for the time being, he could feel the energy returning to him and his coat lightly lifting with colors flaring in sparkling energy.

@Adèlaide

His raised lip and exposed fangs set her on edge, creating a feeling of displeasure to fill her body and respond in kind, her own fangs being bared at this hybrid. The atmosphere tense and...strange near the looming tree and with the clusters a fence of peace.

Everything was out of focus, the Divine merely a hazy figure in her vision and the ground below nothing but something to solid to stand on, everything except for those which she held dear and the hybrid which edged closer. "They're..." Her words broke off, the word perfect was settled upon her tongue again but she found that something was holding it back. Her head tilted as she truly looked at the Things which she had grown so fond of. "I don't know." That felt wrong, her throat contracting slightly to limit her breath for only a second. She had never thought about it, she hadn't needed to for it wouldn't matter what they were, she would cherish them all the same. "I was in the place full of loud noises, it was very high, getting there was hard, and it had a lot of water." A pause to gather oxygen back into her lungs and for her hazy vision to focus again. "There were others, I don't know who, and we were on these rocks in the middle of the water because it was the only land. I found these beautiful things floating on top of the water and I just couldn't not take them. You would have to, everyone would have because they're just so...perfect! I didn't see the others take any before I left but they must have! Not even that idiot Overseer Vargas would have not taken one." 'Overseer vargas' was muttered in a mocking tone, as if she was laughing at him.

She was wary of the paw reaching out for it, keeping a watchful gaze on him. As long as he understood they were hers it was fine. Did he not want it? She was so confused, relieved but confused, why didn't he want it? Then her questioned her health? The thought of being ill had never occurred to the pup, and perhaps never would, she felt that everything was completely fine. "Are you ill?" Maybe that was his form of greeting, better to play along rather than judge him for something he probably couldn't help. Poor guy. "Maybe if you had a Thing of your own you'd feel better! You might also be less lonely becau-" Something was growing out if the ground. Fast. Something long and yellow and big.

She watched him with awestruck features and he peeled a layer back from the thing, but he had talked about eating it. This wasn't eating it. He was playing with it! Wait. Nope. There was something inside that he was eating, a different kind of yellow and it looked odd yet as she watched him eat she also watched him begin to sparkle. With a little bit of concentration she brought the wisp to hover right above the banana and more and more wisps were popping into existence all of them slowly dancing around the two creatures and the banana. Party time! She wanted to sparkle too! With less of a desire to eat for she didn't actually feel hungry and more of a desire to glitter in the wisp light she dug into her side of the banana. It was not like eating meat at all but it did give her a little bit more energy than she had before and eased off her frantic breathing. "It's huge!" She almost shouted the exclamation. "And slimy."

If she focused a little, for it caught her attention when one of her wisps cane close to the banana, she could see something fibrous along the length of the banana, it just ran as a straight line all the way down. That looks like something from the inside of my Things, just a lot lot bigger and it's only one." Her paw reached out to try and pull the long thing off the banana but it just got her paw really slushy and slimy.

@Serek

S E R E K
you kneel before my throne
unaware it was born of lies

With closed eyes, Serek flared the fur along his skin and twitched his muscles. He was feeling leagues better than he had before- whatever he did with that banana must have been something. Magic could fail easily, and yet it could succeed far further than expected at times. As he let the substance slide down his throat, he mulled over the wolf's words, eyes staring up at the Divine's branches. It sounded like Fornax. Then again, with everything flooding as it had been recently, she could have meant some lake of some kind.

He had to admit, they were perfect. The mention of some other creature pulled the hybrid's ears forward for the briefest moment, but they relaxed with indifference. He didn't know them- he didn't have reason to care. Now fed, he drew his nose forward to the offered cluster once more. Dark eyes looked over it as he replied with "I'm healthy." Their smell wasn't bothering him much anymore. In fact- they seemed to grow on him, the sweetness of it highlighting in his mind and overriding the rotten feel of it. Though, at the second part, his tail flicked up and he retreated a millimeter. "I'm not lonely-" He choked defensively, trying to keep his face one of calm. He couldn't be mad near these Things, though.

He watched in silence as she investigated the food with more wisps. "It's a banana," he supplied, if she hadn't seen one before. "Usually... Smaller?" His voice grew quiet as she downed part of it. A soft smile, foreign to Serek's features, came across his face as she seemed pleased with the food. It occurred to him that neither of them knew each other's names, yet perhaps it wasn't time to ask just yet. Instead, he pulled his attention to the broken cluster as the wolf spoke. He could see the resemblance, but inside the cluster it seemed more sparse with that same greyish tint to it. Perhaps the outside was like the skin of a banana to whatever these were? Looking closer, their structure and smell reminded him of durians. He had only the chance to see one or two, but the stench they output but him off of ever trying one.

His instincts got the better of him as he extended his paw fully this time to place upon one of the smaller clusters, his magic flaring down to his limb and reaching out to the history of the object. It was a weak connection, but it did manage to build itself enough to connect the two of them. If she found these floating in Fornax, they surely had history before that, no?

@Adèlaide @Game Master Dark

His mind swam deep in black water, resting against stone. So deep: no light.

It flickered back farther, deeper into the past.

The cluster lay there. Deep in black water... resting against the stone.

Farther back. A decade...

Unchanging...

a century...

Forgotten, cold, dark, far beneath the water... they had lain here eons...

@Serek

Life had flowed back into her body, the difference was almost palpable that an unintentional gasp left her body once the banana settled in her stomach. The constant aching of one's limbs, that had become so normal that everything had been fine, had eased off. So much that the word freedom had made an apparition in her mind, only lasting a second, nothing more than a fleeting glimpse of what once was. What could be again. Yet, something niggling at the back of her mind, not really a thought, not really anything, whispered sweet words that she was fine no matter how her body actually was. She was fine before: when she was shivering on a hill somewhere in Pisces; she was fine now: rejuvenated, a river of life flowing through her,a presence watching through her eyes; she would be fine tomorrow and the day after: with the purity of the fruit worn off and her body lapsing back into its previous state.

She was silent for a while, watching both the hybrid and the clusters with eager eyes, one paw sticky with the remnants of the banana, the other a protective barrier for her Things, covering them from the Tree's sight. Saying nothing all the while, even as he placed his paw onto one of them (she couldn't tell what he was doing, did not know that he was using magic, merely thought that he was giving in to them as she had), she merely watched him closer. This was good, caress it, love it, share it. Her tail had started an agitated flicker but her face was one of calm serenity and pure pride, at herself and at him. The banana could be forgotten, her wisps gathered closer to circle the one cluster that the hybrid had; a halo of light. "I've hurt that one." It was a whisper, almost as if it hurt her to bring it up again to see it crack and tumble from the wall, to see claws tearing at the inside. Her eyes were shut for a moment, her head bowed in pain. "They must be protected. Others have to see what they're missing, no one's complete without them." He said he wasn't lonely, it must be because she had brought him to the clusters. Everyone's lonely without them, they must be. Or - "Can you feel it too? I'm sure it's happy that you finally love them too." With that her head twisted at all angles although she could see nothing.

"If only I could find my nest -" The memory came back: running through the trees, mouth full of materials, pride. "I could make them comfortable and keep them safe and bring others to them rather than carrying them around." It was more muttered to the clusters, a reminder that she only thought about them, everything she did was for them.

@Serek